Carney Chukwuemeka sums up why Chelsea hired Mauricio Pochettino in emphatic nine-word message

Carney Chukwuemeka is back. After almost five months out on the sideline with a knee injury, the 20-year-old made his long-awaited comeback at home to Fulham a fortnight ago.

On a warm Sunday afternoon in east London, Chukwuemeka celebrated a huge milestone – scoring his first goal for the club. That was on 28 minutes but by half-time in the 3-1 defeat to West Ham United, he was in the treatment room. Such is football; full of highs and lows.

A high for Chukwuemeka, who signed from Aston Villa for around £20million in the summer of 2022 with a promise from Thomas Tuchel that he would be a significant part of the first-team squad at Stamford Bridge, would be starting against Aston Villa on Friday evening. The Blues welcome the Villains to SW6 for the fourth round of the FA Cup and Chukwuemeka could make his first start in way over four months.

Chukwuemeka was a huge part of Mauricio Pochettino's plans in Chelsea's pre-season tour of the United States over the summer, where the new Blues head coach was getting to know each and every one of his players. Often used in the No.10 position in the 4-2-3-1 formation, it was clear to see how highly Pochettino rated the England Under-20 international.

But, as mentioned, after impressive displays firstly against Liverpool and then West Ham, disaster struck for Chukwuemeka – and it set him back massively. Now, though, the former Villa youngster has his sights firmly set on returning to the team and proving some people, mainly those who said he made a bad decision moving to Stamford Bridge from the Midlands-based club, wrong.

Speaking in an interview with the Telegraph, Chukwuemeka has detailed how Pochettino has helped him already despite only playing less than 200 minutes under his new